Syllabus

• Unit 1 Introduction to Indian music and musicology (1 to 5)
• ● A brief outline of the development of Indian music from the chants of the Samaveda, in six stages
• ● Understanding the terms ‘science’ and ‘art’ in the context of Indian music research.
• ● Development of musicology and music Research in the Indian music tradition.
• ● A note on some important music texts, Sangita Ratnakara in particular.

• Unit 2 Gita in Sangita Ratnakara (6 & 7)
• ● Connotation of the words ‘sangita’ and ‘gita’.
• ● Importance of gita, the vocal music aspect, and its universal appeal.
• ● ‘nada’ or the musical sound that manifests in the human body; three main perspectives of nada manifestation namely physiological, yogic, and philosophical.

• Unit 3 Understanding svara and tonal structures (8 to 13)
• ● Description of the melodic units of sruti and svara.
• ● Different kinds of description of the tone of svara-s like association with animal and bird sounds, etc.
• ● Classification of svara as vadi, samvadi, etc.
• ● Rasa-s associated with svara-s
• ● Categorising svara-s in an octave as suddha and vikrta
• ● Organisation of tonal structures like grama, murchana, etc.
• ● Description of varna as a tonal form in the Ratnakara and the compositional form varna as seen in current practice of Karnataka music
• ● The term alankara as described in Ratnakara, then in Caturdandi Prakasika and as seen in contemporary practice

• Unit 4 Raga, its classifications and raga systems (14 to 21)
• ● Exposition of raga in the Ratnakara
• ● Marga and desi raga-s and the two types of classifications of raga-s into grama raga, etc. and raganga, bhashanga, etc.
• ● Method of description of raga-s with illustrations in the Ratnakara
• ● Development of the mela-janya system of raga classification
• ● The 72 melakarta scheme and its features
• ● A note on the raganga raga and melakarta raga systems, their similarities and differences
• ● Janya raga-s and their types
• ● Some other kinds of raga classifications

• Unit 5 Aspects of music practice and music practitioners (22 to 25)
• ● Description of music practitioners – composers, singers and their types.
• ● Types of voices, the singing voice and types of musical performances.
• ● Description of some musical aspects like gamaka, alapti, etc and their connotations in contemporary practice.

• Unit 6 Tala – the rhythmic aspect (26 & 27)
• ● A brief outline of tala-s described in the Sangita Ratnakara.
• ● Description of the 108 tala-s, suladi sapta tala-s and other kinds of tala-s like capu, that are employed in current practice.

• Unit 7 Description of instrument, dance, and prabandha/musical forms (28 to 30)
• ● A brief note on the four types of instruments and how instruments in contemporary times relate to each of the four types described in the Ratnakara.
• ● A brief note on the chapter on dance in the Ratnakara.
• ● Details of the compositional forms described in the Ratnakara – particularly, prabandha.
• ● Description of compositional or kalpita and creative or manodharma forms found in current practice.